Buddleia plant named ‘Princess Pink’

ABSTRACT

The new and distinct plant of  Buddleia  ‘Princess Pink’ is a rounded-mounded, multi-stemmed, winter-hardy butterfly bush with very long, mostly horizontal, thyrse producing sweetly fragrant flowers over a long season beginning mid-summer. Flowers have large petals of purplish-pink that are attractively offset by dark green foliage with silvery undersides. The new plant is valuable for attracting butterflies in the garden, landscaping en masse, as an accent or as a potted specimen.

Botanical classification: Buddleia davidii.

Variety denomination: ‘Princess Pink’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(b)(6)

The first non-enabling disclosure of the claimed plant, in the form of a photograph and brief description was on a website operated by Walters Gardens, Inc. on Feb. 1, 2020. Buddleia ‘Princess Pink’ was listed with a photograph and brief description in the “Walters Gardens 20-21 Catalog” distributed initially on May 20, 2020. The claimed plant was first sold on Jul. 23, 2020 by Walters Gardens, Inc., who obtained the plant and all information relating thereto, from the inventor. No plants of Buddleia ‘Princess Pink’ have been sold in this country or anywhere in the world, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made, more than one year prior to the filing date of this application, and such sale or disclosure within one year was either derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE PLANT

The present invention relates to the new and distinct butterfly bush plant of the Scrophulariaceae family, Buddleia ‘Princess Pink’ developed by the inventor on Aug. 15, 2015 as a single seedling selection from a self-pollination of the unreleased proprietary hybrid 14-38-6 (not patented) as the female or seed parent and male or pollen parent at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA. The new plant, was assigned the breeder code 15-57-103 through the evaluation trials. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as single individual flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated controlled self-pollination.

No plants of Buddleia ‘Princess Pink’ have been sold, under this or any other name, in this country or anywhere in the world, prior to the filing of this application, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made prior to the filing of this application with the exception of that which may have been sold or disclosed within one year of the filing date of this application and was either derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.

Buddleia ‘Princess Pink’ was first asexually propagated from a single select plant in 2016 by stem cuttings at the same nursery in Zeeland, Mich. The resultant asexually propagated plants have been found to be stable and true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the new Buddleia have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment and cultural practices such as temperature, light intensity, available moisture and fertility without, however, any variance in genotype.

In comparison to the new plant the female parent has lavender flowers that are more upright and the plant habit is more arching.

The nearest comparison plants known to the inventor are Buddleia ‘Prince Charming’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 28,903, ‘Pink Cascade’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 30,711, ‘Pink Micro Chip’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 26,547, ‘Pink Delight’(not patented) and ‘Attraction’ (not patented).

‘Prince Charming’ has a more compact habit and the thyrse are shorter and more upright, and the flowers are more cerise-pink. ‘Pink Cascade’ has a longer and more drooping thyrse, and the flower petal color is a medium pink. ‘Pink Micro Chip’ has a much smaller habit, the flowers are sterile and do not produce stamens, and the flower color is more reddish-purple. ‘Pink Delight’ has a much larger habit, the thyrse are more upright and not as dense with flowers, and the flower color is a slightly different hue. ‘Pink Attraction’ has a taller habit and a more mauve-pink flower color.

The proprietary hybrid 14-38-6 parent was not maintained as a plant or in photography, so no further comparison is possible.

Buddleia ‘Princess Pink’ is a unique winter-hardy butterfly bush different from all other Buddleia cultivars known to the inventor based on the following combined repeatedly observed distinguishing traits:

-   -   1. Winter-hardy butterfly bush shrub, with multiple-stemmed,         well-branched, round, mounded habit;     -   2. Large, broad, many-flowered, elongated and mostly horizontal         thyrse flowering over a prolonged season beginning mid-summer;     -   3. Flowers with apple-blossom pink petals;     -   4. Lanceolate foliage of dark green with silvery undersides.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of the new plant demonstrate the overall appearance of the plant, including the unique traits. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Ambient light spectrum, source and direction may cause the appearance of minor variation in color.

FIG. 1 shows the habit of a three-year-old plant in mid-season flowering.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the inflorescence.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2015 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used. The new plant, Buddleia ‘Princess Pink’, has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype. The following observations and size descriptions are of three-year-old plants in the loamy-sand, open-sun, field trials of a nursery in Zeeland, Mich. with supplemental fertilizer and water as needed. The plants are natural habit and were not treated with plant growth regulators, nor were they pinched at any time in the growth year except to cut back woody stems to about 15 cm tall in early spring.

-   Parentage: Unreleased proprietary hybrid 14-38-6 (not patented) as     the female or seed patent and the male or pollen parent; -   Propagation:     -   -   Method.—Softwood shoot cuttings.         -   Time to initiate roots from tissue culture.—About two weeks.         -   Rooting habit.—Normal, dense and branching, developing thick             at base to about 1.5 cm diameter.         -   Root color.—Creamy white between RHS 159A and lighter than             RHS 159 D depending on soil type.         -   Crop time.—Under normal summer growing conditions 12 to 15             weeks to flower in a four-liter container from cutting.             Plant vigor is very good. -   Plant description:     -   -   Plant shape and habit.—Winter-hardy, herbaceous to             semi-woody, well-branched shrub with about 5 thick upright             and branched main stems producing a rounded mound, to about             110 cm tall and about 150 cm wide.         -   Stem.—Terete and woody in lower portion, with exfoliating             bark; younger distal portion tomentose to tomentulose;             strong, mostly horizontal inflorescent with flower and bud             production; average about 108 cm tall from soil line to just             below terminal flowers, and about 30.0 mm diameter at the             base; about five stems per plant, about 12 branches per main             stem before distal flowers in upper 10 nodes, extending at             about 45° angle from main stem.         -   Stem color.—Young distal portion just below flowers between             RHS 146B and RHS 146C; basal 15 cm between RHS 200C and RHS             165B with striations between RHS 200A and RHS N199B.         -   Internode.—About 22 nodes per main stem below terminal             thyrse, average internode length about 6.5 cm on unpinched             plant, shorter proximally and longer distally. -   Foliage description: Opposite; lanceolate; decussate; serrate to     serrulate margin with about five teeth per cm, teeth about 1.0 mm     long and 2.0 mm wide; young expanding leaves puberulent abaxial and     adaxial, becoming glabrous adaxial; attenuate base and narrowly     acute apex; sessile; moderate bulging between veins; no foliar     fragrance detected;     -   -   Leaf blade size.—Up to about 10.0 cm long and about 2.8 cm             wide, average about 7.0 cm long and about 2.2 cm wide;             becoming smaller in distal portion of stem.         -   Foliage color.—Young expanding leaf adaxial nearest RHS             138A, young expanding abaxial nearest RHS 191B; mature             leaves adaxial RHS NN137A, mature abaxial nearest RHS 191D.         -   Veins.—Reticulate; adaxial glabrous, slightly impressed;             abaxial costate, puberulent.         -   Vein color.—Abaxial midrib between RHS 146D and RHS 145A and             secondary veins nearest RHS NN137A; adaxial midrib between             RHS 145D and RHS 145C and secondary veins nearest RHS 146A.         -   Petioles.—Leaves sessile.         -   Inflorescence.—Densely-flowered, conical, glomerate thyrse             consisting of about 2,000 to 4,000 self-cleaning salverform             flowers; main center thyrse to about 28.0 cm long and about             8.0 cm across, average about 24.0 cm long and 7.0 cm across;             irregularly branched, sub-opposite, with up to about 50             branches, average 40 branches per thyrse; branches to about             6.5 cm long and 5.5 cm wide with up to 280 flowers per             branch; beginning in mid-July and continuing until frost in             Michigan.         -   Inflorescence attitude.—Slightly drooping, arching             downwardly.         -   Flower buds.—Clavate with long tube base, apex rounded; one             day prior to opening about 13.0 mm long, about 2.0 mm             diameter in club, tube about 1.0 mm diameter and about 9.5             mm long.         -   Flower bud color.—Nearest RHS 72C in club portion, basal             one-third of tube portion nearest RHS NN155B, distal             two-thirds of tube nearest RHS 181B.         -   Sepals.—Typically four, proximal two-thirds connate,             adpressed to corolla tube; acute apex; glabrous adaxial and             pubescent abaxial; margin entire; fused in about the basal             1.5 mm and split in about the terminal 1.0 mm; forming a             corolla about 2.5 mm long and about 1.0 mm across;             individually less than about 1.0 mm wide at point of fusion.         -   Sepal color.—Adaxial and abaxial both variable, nearest RHS             138A and nearest RHS 187A in more sun.         -   Flowers.—Salverform; with straight terete tube about 10.0 mm             long and 1.0 mm diameter, and a abruptly applanate face             about 9.0 mm across; attitude outward from thyrse center;             with corolla lobes perpendicular to corolla tube.         -   Flowers fragrance.—Pleasantly and distinctly sweet.         -   Petals.—Typically four; glabrous abaxial and on adaxial             blades and tube, puberulent center adaxial tube about 4.0 mm             long between face and base of anthers; blade rounded with             crenulate margin; apex rounded; blade to about 3.5 mm across             and about 4.0 mm long from fused face; corolla lobes free             and not imbricate.         -   Petal color.—Adaxial face nearest RHS N74C upon opening,             when fully open for at least a day and before dehiscing             nearest RHS N74D; abaxial face when opening nearest RHS             N74C, when fully open for at least a day and before             dehiscing nearest RHS 73D; adaxial tube upon opening nearest             N172B near face, base nearest RHS 145D and center nearest             172B, when fully open for at least a day until just before             dropping base nearest RHS 155A, near face nearest RHS 25A             and center portion nearest RHS N167B; abaxial tube upon             opening base nearest RHS 145B, center portion nearest RHS             185D and near face nearest RHS 182A, when fully open for at             least a day until just prior dehiscing base nearest RHS             NN155C, center portion and distally between RHS 179B and RHS             179C.         -   Gynoecium.—Pistil: single; about 5.0 mm long. Style: short,             round, glabrous; about 1.8 mm long and about 0.2 mm             diameter; color nearest RHS 145D. Stigma: oblong ellipsoidal             with acute apex; minutely puberulent; about 0.5 mm in             diameter and about 1.3 mm long; color nearest RHS 145B.             Ovary: superior; ellipsoidal with rounded apex and rounded             base; about 0.7 mm across and 1.8 mm tall; color nearest RHS             145A.         -   Androecium.—Typically four. Filaments: adnate to inner             corolla tube for 6.0 mm; about 0.2 mm diameter; color             variable between RHS NN155C at base and center portion and             distally between RHS 179B and RHS 179C. Anthers: typically             four; oblong; introrse; basifixed; longitudinal; about 1.2             mm long and 0.5 mm wide; color nearest RHS 18D. Pollen:             globose, less than 0.1 mm long; color nearest RHS 158A.         -   Pedicel.—Short, puberulent, cylindrical; about 1.0 mm long             and about 0.5 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 187A.         -   Peduncle.—Quadrangular in lower portion and more cylindrical             in distal-most branching; puberulent; flexible and strong;             to about 56.0 cm long total, and about 3.0 mm across at base             below flowers.         -   Peduncle color.—Proximally nearest RHS 146D, distally             becoming variable between RHS 187A and RHS 146C.         -   Fruit.—Moderate fruit set; oblong with acute apex; glabrous,             bi-valved, septicidal capsule; about 6.0 mm long and about             2.0 mm diameter.         -   Fruit color.—As maturing nearest RHS 138B when mature and             dehiscing between RHS N199C and RHS 165B.         -   Seed.—Elongated ellipse with sharply acute ends; about 3.0             mm long and about 0.1 mm diameter in center.         -   Seed color.—In center RHS N199B, ends between RHS 199D and             RHS 161D. -   Disease resistance: The new plant is not susceptible to deer     browsing. Other pest and disease resistance beyond that common to     butterfly bush cultivars has not been observed. The plant grows best     with plenty of moisture and adequate drainage, but is able to     tolerate some drought when mature. -   Hardiness at least from USDA zone 6 through 10, crown and root hardy     to at least zone 5b. 

It is claimed:
 1. A new cultivar of winter-hardy butterfly bush plant named Buddleia ‘Princess Pink’ as herein illustrated and described. 